Space War on Another Planet at Wolverhampton Races

2017-04-19

4.00 Beverley – Manangatang

There are some interesting runners in the 10 furlong, Class 4 handicap at Beverley, with a number of last time winners and unexposed runners in the field. While it is always difficult to be overly dogmatic as to which horse is the best when several won similar contests last time out, selections are determined by odds and betting value, and we like the look of the once raced, once victorious Manangatang from the Luca Cumani yard. The horse was unfancied when making a successful debut last November, and should have come on plenty this term.

Manangatang is a colt by Fastnet Rock, and he went off at odds of 20/121.00+200020.0020.00-0.05 on debut at Lingfield. Travelled strongly in rear and found a gap to win by a narrow margin. Was clearly not expected to do quite that well on debut and like with many runners from the Luca Cumani yard, the horse is expected to do better in his 3 year old campaign. The horse is returning from a 155 day break, but that shouldn’t be an issue from this yard, and Cumani actually has a fantastic record with his 3 year olds who have had one start and are returning from a 150+ day break; 24/79 (30%) for £30 LSP, giving an A/E of 27/501.54-1850.54-1.850.54 .

The market leader is the John Gosden trained Stradivarius. The son of Sea The Stars is also returning from an absence and is a last time winner (although it took him 3 starts to get off the mark). John Gosden is not quite so good at bringing his horses back at full fitness for their seasonal reappearances and although the horse is very well bred and should progress this season, he is likely to improve as the year goes on. At odds of 5/23.50+2502.502.50-0.40 with Bet365, Manangatang looks the best bet in a 6 runner race.

5.40 Wolverhampton – Space War

Apprentice contests aren’t normally our first port of call when it comes to finding selections, but Michael Easterby’s Space War stands out as a value betting opportunity, and at odds of 13/27.50+6506.506.50-0.15 with Coral and William Hill, he could well return to winning ways.

Space War is an experienced runner, and definitely is entering the twilight of his career, but Michael Easterby’s runner seems as good as ever. The majority of the horses starts have been on turf, but he actually has a better record on the all-weather; 4/20 with a further 5 places. The horse ran 6 days ago at Chelmsford and ran a reasonable race over 7 furlongs, finishing 4th of 9 after going off as the market leader. His penultimate run was also over 7 furlongs and the horse recorded a similar form figure. If form students go a few starts back, they will see that Space War won over 6 furlongs and then followed that effort up next time finishing a very close up 3rd. Based off recent starts, there is room to think that the horse is best over 6 furlongs nowadays, and Easterby seems to agree as he has dropped the horse back to what could be his optimal distance.

The horse is able to sneak into a Class 6 contest at Wolverhampton and everything looks to be in his favour. He returns after 6 days and when returning to the track within a week, the horse is 2/10 with a further 4 places. Furthermore, Michael Easterby runners who were beaten favourites last time out are 71/378 (19%) for £17 LSP, giving an A/E of 27/1001.27-3700.27-3.700.27 .

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About The Author

Eric has been sports journalist for over 20 years and has traveled the world covering the top sporting events for a number of publications. He also has a passion for betting, and uses his in-depth knowledge of the sports world to pinpoint outstanding odds and value betting opportunities.